Chapter Forty-nine

38 weeks

Sarah woke up feeling a presence behind her, a hand on her belly. Immediately knowing who it was, she turned around in his strong arms and reached up to kiss his lips, neck and chest.

Richie woke up to a tickle-y feeling. He smiled, knowing what Sarah was doing and slowly opened his eyes.

"Morning." He croaked.
Sarah looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "No talking." She cuddled into his side. "I missed you."
"I missed you too."
Gently, she poked him. "It's so good to have you home. I'll take care of you, we'll stay in bed all morning." She pulled up the sheets even higher so they were nice and snuggly in bed.

The most part of their day was spend in bed, enjoying each other.

Thanks to his ipad and typing skills, Richie was able to tell Sarah all about the tour without talking too often. Being on vocal rest was already becoming a drag, especially when Sarah told him to not talk at all.


In the afternoon, Richie met with his vocal coach. Someone that had helped him throughout the making of the album and would have a better idea about his voice than a doctor in London that was a stranger to him.

"I'm allowed to talk." Richie said as he walked back into the living room afterwards.
Sarah gave him a stern look.
"Not too much but I'm allowed to."
"It would heal faster if you don't, I just wanted to help."
Richie sat down on the couch next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. "I know, but I like talking, especially to you." He paused for a few seconds. "And I haven't talked to Sammy yet."
"But you have to be careful, I don't want you to lose your voice again, you already sound terrible now."
"Not my sexy voice?"
"It's nowhere near your sexy voice."
Richie pouted.
"I told Ava you were coming home, she's coming over tonight."
He nodded. "Great, I missed her too."


After school, the whole family was finally together again.

Letting everyone enjoy their time, Abbey, who was still staying at the house, had offered to prepare dinner for everyone.

"How's it been with your mom around the house again?" Richie asked hoarsely as he watched Sarah, who was watching her mother go to the kitchen.
"Great, like it used to be before I met you. It's been nice but she looks so tired, did you see?" She waited for Richie to nod before continuing. "Every time I ask her, she says she's fine. I don't know what's wrong."
"She's been helping you a lot, maybe it's just that."
Sarah sighed, not really believing that. "I hope so."

The rest of the evening, they spent as a family, watching television and talking through most of the shows until there was a good movie on to watch.

Abbey had excused herself and gone to bed after everyone had said good night to her.

Despite being sick, Richie loved being home again, his wife next to him, his children close to him. It was where he always wanted to be but being a musician, he'd have to travel the world. If he could, he'd just take everyone with him. It worked when Ava was little and didn't have to be in school. Maybe Sarah and baby Sammy could travel with him too. The next tour was too early for that but maybe the tour after that one.

During every commercial break, Ava thought of something she still needed to tell her dad. Which made everyone wait for it during the next commercial break. When Ava asked why they were all staring at her as if they were expecting something, which made them all laugh.

Noticing Ava didn't understand what was so funny, Richie quickly explained why they were laughing, which triggered Ava's memory of something else she needed to tell him.

When the movie had ended and all the kids had gone up to bed, Richie helped Sarah up from the couch. Only being 38 weeks, he wondered if she was going to get any bigger in the next two weeks.

"Ready to go?" Richie asked, for once not sounding too hoarse.

Just as he asked, Sarah felt another contracting pain, making her lose the air in her lungs and steady herself against her husband.

"Not again." She groaned.
"What was that? Was that Sammy?" He asked quickly. "What do you mean, not again?"
As the pain eased away, Sarah regained her composure. "It's just false labor, Sammy's been doing that for two weeks."
"Two weeks? When?"
"Right before you went on stage, every time after you phoned me to tell me so."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"It's false labor! The contractions never got any closer together and stopped after a few hours, everytime and then you'd phone me to tell me the concert was over."
"Alright, alright, calm down. Let's just sit down again then." Richie suggested.
"No. I want to go to bed." Sarah said stubbornly, knowing it would stop in a few hours.
Richie nodded, not wanting to refuse her.

He helped Sarah up the stairs and to bed, making sure she was comfortable enough.

Chapter Forty-eight

38 weeks

Next Wednesday morning, Richie woke up to the sound of his phone. He didn't remember having set an alarm for the morning, they wouldn't be travelling until late that evening.

He reached out and unplugged his phone from the charger, accepting the call.

"Honey, are you okay?" Sarah sounded worried.
"I-" The rest of the sentence went lost. He tried again but no sound came out.
"Richie?"
Trying again, his voice was completely gone.
Sarah sounded even more worried when he didn't react.

He sighed, sat up in bed and opened the messages on his phone, hoping Sarah wouldn't disconnect the call and would read his text.

I lost my voice

He quickly sent the text, making it short to be faster.

The call got disconnected.

Did she get the text? Why didn't she say so if she did?

Before he could do anything else, an invitation for FaceTime popped up on his phone. Relieved, he clicked to accept.

"You lost your voice?" Sarah asked, still sounding just as worried.
Richie tried again to say something but it was too hoarse and too unclear to make any sense of.
"Don't talk, just nod. Is it sore?"
Richie nodded.
"Just your throat? Anything else? What about a fever?"
He frowned, not knowing which question to answer first.
"Fever?" Sarah asked, understanding she was asking too many things at once.
He shrugged.
"You're still in bed. I just woke you up." She finally figured it out and felt sorry.
A weak smile, to say it's okay.
"You didn't phone me back last night after the concert and I was worried but then I figured you'd be sleeping and I was going to bed now too so I just had to be sure before I was going to bed. I'm sorry."
Thumbs up, it's fine.
"If you do have a fever, you should probably see a doctor, especially since your voice is completely gone."
He sighed.
"I'm sorry honey. I can't imagine how disappointed you'll be if you have to cancel the tour but you have to think of your health."
He nodded slowly.
"Go back to sleep for a bit, might still help a little bit but see a doctor too."
Richie nodded again, agreeing.
"Phone me back, okay? I might not be able to sleep anyway. I love you."
This time he managed a very hoarse, "I love you too."
"No talking." Sarah smiled before disconnecting the video call.


A few hours later, Richie texted Sarah again, not wanting to wake her up in case she was sleeping.

Laryngitis. Have to cancel next 3 shows. Coming home


Sarah read the text after she woke up in the morning. Reading it, she felt disappointed and sorry for her husband. She knew how much he was loving the concerts and the crowd, it was unfair he had to cancel shows now.

She also felt somewhat relieved he'd now be home for Sammy, feeling that, she felt guilty for feeling it.


A few hours later they were able to talk again.

"I'm so sorry honey. What did the doctor say?" Sarah asked when they were able to video chat again.
Richie gave her a look to ask how he was supposed to answer that without talking.
"Did your cold cause it?"
He shrugged, it could have but not necessarily.
"The doctor didn't know either? Is it contagious?"
He shook his head. He had asked about that, wondering what would happen if Sammy was early and didn't have an immune system yet.
"That's good. You should take a hot shower, the steam would help your throat and the shower would be relaxing."
Nodding, he agreed, it didn't sound like a bad idea.


Richie would stay in London for another day, not feeling up to a long flight at the moment and had been able to arrange a private jet. That way he'd be home the same day, late in the evening.

The hours before Richie left the hotel, were the hours they talked the most while he was abroad. Most of the band had already gone home too, so he was mostly on his own. Which made time for video calls with Sarah, Ava and the boys.

Not able to wait any longer, he showed Sarah all the onesies he had bought for Sammy.

Thursday evening they talked until Richie had to get on the plane. For the rest of the afternoon Sarah stayed around the house, not doing much at all.

Even though she had had a quiet and uneventful day, for what could be called uneventful, she felt tired earlier than she usually did. Her husband would be home in a few hours, getting a book to read, she got in bed, determined to wait up for him.

At least Sarah would have her husband back home, at her side where she needed him most right now.

Chapter Forty-seven

37 weeks

5 hours later, Sarah had no clue how to tell Richie what had happened just now.

There were only a few options of how he'd react. He'd want to come home immediately and cancel the rest of the tour, or panic.

Either way, she had to phone him back, she'd been avoiding his calls for long enough now.

She picked up her phone carefully and phoned Richie back.

"Hey, did I wake you?" She asked when the phone was answered.
"No, I was going to phone you once more before going to bed." Richie answered, sounding tired.
Sarah hadn't figured out the time in Amsterdam but it must be the middle of the night. "I'm sorry, I fell asleep and missed your calls." She decided lying was easier than making her husband panic and act on overreacting thoughts.
"It's okay, I figured."
"Do you want to talk about the concert or are you too tired?"
"Never too tired for that."

Sarah relaxed back as she listened to her husband excitedly talking about the concert, the songs he played and the reaction of the crowd. She was sad to have missed it but knew he had an amazing time and his shows would only get better as he gained confidence with it every evening. That way the last concerts, the ones she would be able to go to, would be best.

It made her happy to know how happy her husband was, she knew that she had made the right decision by not telling him just yet. Maybe next week or when he was home.

She knew it wasn't right to lie to him and keep things from him but it was for his own good even though he wouldn't be happy about it once he found out. Worse than not happy, he'd be disappointed, sad and angry about it.

For now, she enjoyed her time with Sammy a little different.

"You should go to sleep." Sarah said after a few moments of silence.
Richie sighed. "Yeah, I think so. Time difference is catching up with me. How are you anyway?"
"As good as always." Sarah said with a smile even though Richie couldn't see it.
"And Sammy?"
"Really great." The happiness sounded through her voice.
"Good to hear. Tell Sammy to keep calm. I love you, both."
"We love you too. Phone me whenever you get up."
It took another second before Richie answered. "That's the middle of the night for you."
"Doesn't matter, I might be up anyway."
"We'll see. Good night, I love you."
"I love you too."

Richie hung up the phone and turned over in bed, he had already gotten comfortable in bed before Sarah phoned him. He was glad she had finally answered the phone but he thought something was up. It seemed like Sarah was keeping something from him but he didn't exactly know what, he couldn't think of what it would be either.

Hoping it wasn't anything bad, he also hoped that Sarah would tell him if anything seriously wrong happened or something very good and Sammy decided to make an entrance into the world.

Then he realized, even if Sarah let him know when Sammy was on the way, he'd never be there on time. A flight from Amsterdam to Los Angeles was at least 9 hours, if she was in labor for that long, he'd feel horrible to not have been able to support her through it.

If that had happened, Sarah would have told him they had a baby now, he was sure of that.

Quickly checking the time again and making sure he had set an alarm for the next morning, he pulled the sheets up over his shoulders, got comfortable and closed his eyes, trying to forget all the worries, Sarah's strange phone-call had brought up.

Chapter Forty-six

37 weeks

After spending two wonderful weeks together, Richie had to leave. He had arranged something special for Ava's birthday with Heather. He wanted Sarah to go with them, for the last few days before he left for Europe but Sarah wasn't allowed to fly. Sammy was only a month away and the airline companies didn't trust it.

The day before, Abbey moved into the guest room to keep Sarah company and help her out whenever she needed something and Caleb and Noah couldn't help.

Richie had offered to hire a nurse during the time he was gone but Sarah claimed it was too much. Her mom's help would be just fine.

Every evening Sarah received a phone call at the same time, Richie sure was good at figuring out time zones and time differences. When it made her feel like Richie felt he needed to check in every night, she told him he didn't need to. She trusted him and knew he was busy with other things, especially next week when the tour would start.

"I just like talking to you." Richie said.
"As long as you don't feel like you have to phone me every night, I love talking to you too." Sarah explained.
"I know but I like telling you about my day."
"Alright, tell me all about it."

Richie continued to tell Sarah everything they had done for Ava's birthday in Vegas.

Hearing everything made Sarah feel left out but she knew there would be a lot more birthday that would be just as amazing. Ava's next birthday would be even bigger, that's how it went with turning 16 and having a daddy that could pay for the most amazing party of the year.

Sammy would be just as lucky.


As he waited for his plane to Amsterdam, Richie made another phone call to Sarah, he had to wait for several hours and thought talking to his wife and catching up was the best way to spend that time and calm his nerves.

He hadn't toured solo in a long time, it was different from touring with the band. He had to prove himself to the audience again, although he knew many of them would be Bon Jovi fans.

Luckily for him Sarah answered the phone on the first ring.

"We're almost taking off." Richie said, reading the time schedule once again. "It's gonna be a long flight." He sighed, knowing the flight would be over eight hours long.
"Just sleep on the plane." Sarah suggested, thinking that would be the easiest to do on such a long flight.
"Then I'll be jetlagged."
"Right, watch some movies then."
"That's what I plan to do. What are you doing?"
"The same, watching movies with mom. Relaxing, keeping calm."
"Good, you need to be calm."

Their conversation continued to more non important topics until Richie really had to go. He hung up after saying how much he loved everyone.

Along with everyone else from the band, he boarded the plane, found his seat and got comfortable for a very long flight across the world.



Amsterdam was a great city, next to sightseeing a little, they also went shopping.

Little tiny shops were most interesting to find unique items, he wanted to make sure he got something for everyone from each city he was visiting, make it extra special for everyone. Which also meant he had to look for 5 different things for 4 different people and one that still had to be born.

After a long search he finally found a onesie that would fit Sammy soon enough. Knowing Sammy's sex hadn't played in his advantage, he knew but he had to make sure he wouldn't tell Sarah in any way.

Gift shopping for everyone had been fun, but it also made him feel exhausted.

Along with Joel, they found a coffee shop, knowing well enough what coffee shops meant in The Netherlands. Those days were far behind but it couldn't hurt to just visit and find out if they sold any actual coffee too.

On the way back to the hotel it became noticeable that being around the fumes had an impact too, although it wasn't too great, it still made him feel a little different.


The next day was spent by holding rehearsals at the concert hall. The staff was great and helped as much as they could, answering every answer that was asked. That's how Richie found out the translation for Melkweg was The Milky Way which made him feel a little proud. He was performing in the milky way, the universe. He was greater than anyone else, except maybe the other bands that had played here, but even then he thought he was even greater.

They stuck to the schedule that had been set up, finishing rehearsals at 6 pm and going for dinner.

After dinner was when the good nerves started. He knew it was better to be nervous right before the show than hours or days before. Something he hadn't done in a long time but today was different. He was still confident, but a tiny little but nervous too. Nothing bad, he told himself.

An hour before the show, he decided to phone Sarah again to check up on things, maybe it would calm him down too.

Just as lucky as every other time, Sarah answered on the first ring. It became quite obvious she was carrying her phone with her all the time.

"Hey sweetie." He said gently, trying to let through he was feeling anxious.
"Hey, how are you doing? Aren't you about to go on?"
Richie checked his watch to be sure. "In about an hour, yeah. How are you doing?"
"Oh good, Sammy has been really calm today, no kicking or anything. Very relaxing today. Ava even stopped by to say hello after school."
"That's nice of her." He knew what a great daughter he had and how much she was looking forward to another sibling, still wishing for a sister.

They told each other about their days. Richie talked about his shopping trip the day before and how he was going to find Sammy a onesie in every city he was visiting. Useful souvenirs.

Sarah's days had been quite the opposite, calm and relaxed with very little going on. Everything around the house was taken care of by someone else, which made her a couch potato. She didn't object, with Sammy growing so much, there wasn't much she could do or wanted to do. Although today Sammy had been very calm, she had decided to agree with Sammy and keep calm.

"I gotta go." Richie finally said, a few minutes before he had to get ready.
"Go have fun. Good luck, I'm proud of you and I love you."
"Thanks, I love you too. I'll phone afterwards."
"I'll be waiting." Sarah said before disconnecting the call.

As she leaned over to put her phone on the coffee table, Sarah felt a strong contracting pain in her abdomen.

Chapter Forty-five

34 weeks

Monday morning was the first time Sarah had slept late in a long time. When she woke up, she was alone in bed. Richie didn't have plans for the day either but must have gotten up to make sure everyone had gone to school.

Craving a nice breakfast, Sarah slowly got out of bed. Lately she did everything slowly, Sammy was growing a lot, which made it harder for Sarah to get up or move fast.

She made her way down to the kitchen but it was empty, Richie wasn't preparing breakfast for her as she had hoped, instead Sarah took an apple from the fruit-bowl on the counter and took a bite.

As she ate apple she made her way around the downstairs room but found every room empty and quiet. If Richie wasn't here, there was only one place left that he could be.

On her way back upstairs, Sarah took a detour in the kitchen to toss the core of the apple in the trash can. Then she slowly made her way back up the stairs to Richie's office.

Once she stood by the door, she could hear a few voices and wondered who he was meeting with, making her feel selfconcious about still being in pj's. Even though she had now replaced the flimsy nightgowns for lounge pants and large shirts she found in Richie's part of the closet.

Carefully she knocked on the door, not wanting to disturb in case it was an important meeting but Richie called her in right away.

As she opened the door, Sarah was a little surprised to see her husband and two sons sitting on the couches casually.

Frowning, she asked. "Shouldn't they be in school?"
"We had more important things to discuss." Richie explained, showing her the adoption papers again. "We kinda just started talking about it during breakfast and since I had all the info here, we sort of forgot school."
"Oh, it's okay. You're right, it's more important."

Richie got up, told the boys he'd be back in a few minutes, took Sarah's hand and walked outside of the office with her, closing the door behind them.

"How's it going?" She asked curiously.
"Great. I told them about all the options but they only want me to adopt them, change last names and everything." Richie said happily.
"I know, they're as excited as you are about it."
"We just need to sign every, you too, then we have to inform Jonathan about it and he needs to approve too. He can still say no but if so, we'll find a way around it."
"He said he wasn't their father, he should just sign the papers." Sarah said annoying, thinking about what might happen when Jonathan refused to sign the papers that would make it official that he had stepped away from being a father. "He never was their father anyway."
"I know," Richie wrapped his arms around Sarah to hug her, "he will. Remember he got a couple of years jail for not paying alimony? If he signs, those years might go away."
"What?"
"It wouldn't make a difference, he's never getting out again. It would still be 60 years of imprisonment."
"Are you sure?"
"He'll sign." Richie said confident, then reached in to kiss his beautiful wife. "You should go enjoy your time off with Sammy."
"Shouldn't I be there for moral support?" The reduction of years had her a little worried and wanting to be with her sons.
"We're doing fine. Go back to bed or stay upstairs and you'll be close by."
"Okay but call me when something happens."
"Nothing's gonna happen." He kissed his wife again and went back into the office, continuing his conversation with his soon to be sons instead of stepsons.

Sarah sighed and hoped Richie was right about Jonathan. Even-though she didn't like the possibility Jonathan might get a reduction on his sentence, it would only be one or two years, Richie was right. By the time Jonathan ever got free he would be a 100 years old.

She walked back to Sammy's room, turned on the little radio they had added to the room to play music to help Sammy sleep and put in Richie's new album. She loved it and could listen to it all day long, it was amazing. Carefully she sat down in the rocking chair and listened to the music with Sammy.

As she listened, Sarah started thinking of all the possibilities. Soon Richie would gain three children instead of just one. It wouldn't change anyone their relationships in the family. Even if the boys became Richie's son, she knew Richie would still treat them in the same way and the boys would do the same.

Sammy was another matter, with Sammy they were starting over again, they were starting a whole new family.

In a year, Caleb would go off to college and soon after that Noah and Ava would follow, leaving Richie and Sarah with Sammy and the possible other children. She always wanted a big family but she also knew that with such a big age difference between the children, they might not bond the same as sibling with a smaller age gap would. Ava, Caleb and Noah would always be fifteen years older than Sammy.

Sammy needed siblings, otherwise it would seem like Sammy was an accident. Who knew what kind of rumors people would make up about that too.

It had been a complete surprise to find out she was pregnant, but not in the way of Sammy being an accident.

They had talked about a little sister or brother for Sammy even thought Sarah still didn't know what Sammy would be but siblings had to be there. Because of their age, they didn't want to wait too long either.

It was too early to get ahead of themselves, Sammy still needed to be born.

With the next song, Sarah brought her thoughts back to the adoption. It seemed strange to adopt teenagers, usually people adopted babies but this was entirely different.

Richie would become their father instead of stepfather, his role would change.

Considering that thought, Sarah realized it wouldn't really change at all. The boys were living with them and Richie had made sure they had a college fund too. He had taught Caleb play guitar and drive, now he was teaching Noah and Ava. He did everything for Caleb and Noah as he would for Ava. Everything a father would do, see their school games, teach them life lessons, help with school lessons, made time for them when they needed a little bit of time.

The day Sarah had moved in with her two sons, had really been the day Richie had become their father.

Now all they had to do was make it official.

For the remainder of the album, Sarah tried to shut off her mind and just think about the music and their baby. The thought of naming the baby David if it was a boy ran through her mind again.

A knock at Sammy's bedroom door made her look up to see Richie walk into the room, holding the same file.

"All done?" Sarah asked hopeful.
"Just need your signature, then I'm bringing it to my lawyer's office."
Sarah smiled and got up from the chair, walking over to her husband she kissed him and wrapped her arms around him. "Congratulations with your new sons."
His hand stroked Sarah's pregnant belly, knowing soon their extended family would become even more extended. "I never knew going to rehab could turn out like this. I should have met you 7 years ago."
"7 Years Gone? You had to weather the storm first." Sarah teased.
"And take a chance on the wind with you." Richie went along.
"Now I'll always walk beside you."
Richie laughed. "Alright, enough."
She gave him an innocent look and reached up to kiss him, then teasingly whispered. "Don't you want to be my sugar daddy?"
"That's it." The files forgotten, he took Sarah back to their bedroom.

Chapter Forty-four

34 weeks

Friday was Sarah's very last day. Today she'd be saying goodbye to the hospital, everyone she had met and became friends with, everything she had done and accomplished.

It felt like an ending of a chapter of her life. She was quitting her job as a receptionist and was starting her new job as a full time mommy. Sammy wasn't there yet but she had three other children to take care of.

Another part of her life was starting, she was going to be a mommy all over again. Her other children had grown up and soon would be off to college. With Sammy she was starting over again. It made her somewhat nervous too. Was she still a good mother? Did she still know how to take care of a baby? Sarah tried not to think of it and figured it was like riding a bike, something you weren't able to forget.

There were still 6 weeks to remember everything. Even though Richie wouldn't be there during the last final weeks, everything around the house was ready for Sammy's arrival. A few things were missing but they would be able to get everything in order after Richie got back. A car seat, a stroller, it could wait, as long as Sammy had a bed to sleep in.

After David's suggestion of naming the baby David, Richie and Sarah had agreed that it wasn't an option. David would have way too much fun with that. What they did decided to start thinking of was godparents, they hadn't picked out any yet. Richie had suggested Jon and Dorothea since Jon was his best friend but Sarah wanted to put more thought in to it. They both didn't have siblings so that wasn't a possibility either.

It were all worries for later, now she had finished her job and was leaving everything at the hospital behind her.

On the way home she felt both sadness and happiness about leaving the job.

She was glad to find Richie in the hallway when she got home and walked in. He must have known, immediately he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

"Think of all the time you get with Sammy." He said, before lightly kissing her.
"I know." Sarah sighed.
"And you made a lot of friends. As soon as Sammy is here, they'll all be around here to visit again."
Sarah smiled. "Yeah."
"We can go lay down for a bit if you want."

Sarah agreed again and followed Richie to their bedroom.

A few minutes later she was in bed cuddling him, perfectly comfortable with her fantastic husband. He always soothed her and made her feel relaxed again. Happiness took over of sadness.



Sarah woke up alone, turning over she checked the time. Two hours had passed. Her stomach reminded her that dinner was over.

Carefully she got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom to freshen up.

Walking down the stairs, Sarah could hear people talking in the living room. Quite a few people. She didn't remember Richie telling her he was having company tonight.

"Hey honey." Richie said when he noticed Sarah walking in the room. "Surprise." He smiled as he walked over to once again wrap his arms around her.

The room was full of Sarah's collegues from work, everyone she had called her friends.

Taylor wast he first to speak. "It's your goodbye party and baby shower."
"Baby shower?" Sarah asked confused.
"You hadn't had one yet and we all agreed to get a few things for the baby, something more useful than a goodbye present." Taylor explained.

Sarah looked around and noticed the table full of presents and two large ones standing on the floor next to the table.

"You didn't have to do this." Sarah said.
"We did." Taylor said happily.


After unwrapping the gifts, Sarah realized Taylor was right, they did need the gifts. The two large wrapped boxes were the last things they needed for Sammy, a stroller and a car seat.

The rest of the gifts were smaller, a few more clothes, bottles, stuffed animals  and other toys for the baby.

For Sarah it was great to see all her collegues after work, it made saying goodbye different, a more happy occasion and less like she was leaving forever. She had made friends and they would still visit her at home.

"Happy?" Richie asked her when they had a quiet minute to themselves.
"Yeah. Who's idea was this?" Sarah asked.
"Taylor of course, she asked me if she could throw you a party and after you went to sleep, that was just perfect." He smiled.
"You helped?"
"A tiny little bit." He held her fingers closely together to indicate how little.
"Thanks." She smiled up at him and kissed him.
Breaking apart from their kiss, Richie said. "You have to thank Taylor though."

Sarah nodded.

A few minutes later she had took Taylor apart and thanked her for the party. Taylor had been the first one that she had connected with on a friendship level among her collegues. Eventhough Sarah knew Taylor had a crush her hushand, Taylor had never made that obvious and hadn't invaded on their relationship in any way.

Taylor was a real friend.

The party made Sarah cheer up about quitting her job and staying home for Sammy. Especially now that they had everything they needed for Sammy.

Now the only thing they still needed was Sammy.

Chapter Forty-three

33 weeks

During the weekend they finished Sammy's nursery room. The room had already been painted in different tones of brown. Along with the furniture, all the decorations were put in place too. Both were please with how the room looked and the fact they had finished it in record time.

"Looks great." Richie decided.
Sarah agreed as she sat down in the rocking chair. "Soon." She rocked the chair gently. "Who's all coming Tuesday?" Sarah looked up at her husband for an answer.

Tuesday they'd celebrate Richie's album release with some friends and family. Everything for the party had been arranged and by how many times the record had already been pre-sold, they knew it would be a success.

The tour would be amazing and Sarah felt disappointed and left out she wouldn't be able to go until the last two shows that were closer to home and even then she doubted she would be able to.

Richie playing at home, just for her was great too but it wasn't the same vibe as at a concert. Last year she had started to love seeing Richie play in concert, it did something to him. It was special to him and everyone that could see him. Unique, passion and desire.

"Everyone we invited..." Richie hesitated.
"Except Jon?" Sarah asked, already having a feeling she was right.
"Yeah." Richie sighed.
"His loss." Sarah tried to help with her words but knew it didn't.

Slowly she got up from the chair to hug her husband.

"Your album is great. Everyone already loved the single, the tour is sold out and you loved working on it." She reminded him about it all.
"Yeah." Richie agreed unsure.
"You had every right to make the album, Jon promised you all a break but soon as you start recording he gets jealous and wants an album too. He's scared you'll be successful and he'll need a new guitar player." Sarah knew what happened the past year and was almost sure she was right about Jon.
"He's not jealous. He's the same as me, when the music comes to you, you can't help it. You have to write it, play it." Richie denied it.

Jon was his best friend, why would he be jealous if he was successful? David had been successful on his own and so had Tico with his art and clothing line for children.

"He delayed the album release and the tour so I could do my solo." Richie explained.
"Then why isn't he coming? He didn't even stop by when he was on vacation here in the summer." Sarah put in.

Word had been out that Jon and his family had visited parks in California during the summer, but they hadn't stopped by their house for a quick visit.

Richie shrugged. "His vacation, they must have had other plans."
Sarah wasn't that easily satisfied and didn't buy the story but it seemed like Richie did. "Lets go watch TV, we had a busy day decorating."
Richie nodded, agreeing. "It's perfect, Sammy will love it."


Tuesday Richie was busy with more promotions for his new album. He had been busy with promotions the last few weeks and would be busy with it for a while long. The interviews were great, he didn't only get to talk about his music but was also asked about Sarah's pregnancy and their baby. Almost everyone asked to know the sex of the baby but so far he had managed to keep it a secret. Although he hoped next time Sarah would want to know before the birth.

By now Sammy was fast becoming his favorite subject to talk about. At the moment it was a tie with the new album.

After his interview he drove to the airport to pick his mom up. She was spending a few days with the family.

For November they had made arrangements so Joan could stay a few weeks. By then Sammy would be born and she would want to spent time with her new grandchild.

Abbey lives closer-by, it was easier for her to come visit but while Richie was going on tour in Europe and North-America, she'd move in to one of the guestrooms until Richie was home again. By then Sarah was close to the end of her pregnancy and with Abbey there they both felt safer in case anything would happen while Sarah was alone.

After picking up Joan from the airport, Richie made a stop at the school to pick up his daughter and his soon to be sons. He still needed to talk to them, make sure of everything and what they wanted to do and how. He was excited about the idea and had been able to talk to his lawyer about the possibilities but so far he hadn't had the change to talk to Caleb and Noah in private.


Around 6 pm the guests started arriving. They hadn't invited that many friends and therefor Richie had decided to celebrate at home. During the day a caterer had set up in the kitchen so everyone would be able to have something to eat.

All the band members of both his bands had been able to make it to the party except Jon. He tried not to think of it even though he thought of Jon as his best friend. Somewhat, he felt left down by him but everyone else had made it and was praising him for the new album. So far they too loved everything about it, they all knew what had happened in the last few years with Richie's personal life and heard the process of those years through the lyrics and music.

Sarah's evening was very different from Richie's even-though they were in the same room all night. Everyone came up to her to talk about Sammy and ask all sorts of questions.

"You know what would be a great name for the baby if it's a boy?"
"No David, but I'm sure you'll tell me in a second." Sarah said, already fearing what odd name suggestion he'd have.
"Davey. It's a great name, strong too but I suggest you name it David so it doesn't have to go through life being a diminutive and also, if you'd have a godfather named David, it's even better."
Sarah nodded. "Are you trying be godfather, Davey?"
"Just a suggestion." He said, trying not to make a big deal out of it.
"We haven't really talked about godparents yet but I'll tell Richie you really want the job."
"Job? What job?" Richie had head the last few words Sarah had said.
She smiled up at her husband. "David wants to be godfather. He also thinks David would be a great name for Sammy."
"Davey while he's small though, that's cuter." David pointed out.
Richie considered it. "I don't know, I was really set on just using Samuel."
"Samuel Sambora?" David questioned. "That just repetitious. Davey is a much better name."
"We really haven't decided a name yet." Sarah stepped in again, already knowing Samuel wasn't on the list of names they agreed on.
"Just add Davey." David suggested again.
"We'll let you know when the baby is born." Richie said. "Anyway, you should meet my keyboard player." He pulled David away, ignoring his attempts to suggest the name Davey some more.

Sarah shook her head. Davey? She didn't think so, David would have too much fun with it while Sammy was growing up. Richie and her had set up a list of names that they both had agreed on and neither Samuel or Davey were on the list. Luckily, Samantha wasn't there either. About that David was right, it would be too repetitive so have those first 3 letters in both first and last name. They also hadn't agreed on a definite name yet but still had 7 weeks to do so.

When Richie had another free minute, to his surprise his lawyer showed up at the door with information about adopting stepchildren. He had asked for the information as soon as possible but hadn't thought about it being tonight.

He agreed to a quick conversation and lead the man to his office.

That's where Sarah found him half an hour later after everyone asked her where Richie had gone too.

He was finishing up with the lawyers and could add another folder of papers to the stack on his desk.

"What was that about?" Sarah asked after the lawyer had left the room.
"Adoption forms."
"Oh." His answers surprised her. "Did you get to talk to Caleb and Noah about it?"
"Not yet but with this," He gestured to the folder, "it might be easier. It's got all the info about what we can do and how. The bad thing is, we need to contact Jonathan for it. He needs to sign papers too." He sighed. "Do you think he will?" Having seen Jonathan in the summer, he knew what a jerk he was and wasn't sure if he'd allow them any sort of happiness.
"I hope so." Sarah said, having the same doubts.